The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Sergeant Joseph F. Kilroy (ASN: 1785632), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in action while serving with Company K, 315th Infantry Regiment, 79th Division, American Expeditionary Forces, near Verdun, France, 4 November 1918. Sergeant Kilroy led a patrol of five men to flank a machine-gun nest, but heavy machine-gun fire caused the loss of the other members of the patrol. He picked up the automatic rifle of a fallen comrade, and by his effective and severe fire rendered valuable aid in breaking up a local counterattack, which was forming.